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How bad does a judge have to be to jeopardize the gavel?

Judges are under public scrutiny 24-7, according to the Pennsylvania code

By Rick Lee

rlee@ydr.com @RickLeeYDR on Twitter

Updated:
01/25/2014 03:38:32 PM EST

Judge Tom Kelley (SUBMITTED)

Could Judge Thomas H. Kelley's summary charges jeopardize his position on the York County Court of Common Pleas?

"It depends," said Art Heinz, a spokesman for the Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts.

"A summary charge still demonstrates a failure to comply with the law," Robert A. Graci, chief counsel for the Pennsylvania Judicial Conduct Board said. "It is something the court could sanction. It could be actionable conduct."

Neither Heinz nor Graci would or could by law comment on Kelley's summary charges and what they mean for him.

Investigations by the Judicial Conduct Board are confidential and only sanctions handed down by the Court of Judicial Discipline are made public.

"There is a strict code of conduct for judges and it governs their behavior on and off the bench," Heinz said.

Canon 2 in the state's Code of Judicial Conduct states that "Judges should respect and comply with the law and should conduct themselves at all times in a manner that promotes public confidence in the integrity and impartiality of the judiciary."

"In general terms, they need to act in a manner that should not call into question the integrity of the judiciary," Heinz said. "They need to act in a manner that fosters public confidence in the judiciary."

Last year, the state Supreme Court ruled in the case of an Erie County district judge who "instigated" and "escalated" a road rage incident where he waved a handgun at two occupants in a car, Graci said.

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The district judge pleaded guilty to two summary counts of disorderly conduct.

The Judicial Conduct Board investigated the incident and brought an ethics complaint before the Court of Judicial Discipline. That court dismissed the complaint and the board then took the issue to state Supreme Court.

The appellate court remanded the matter to the judicial discipline court which reprimanded the judge this week.

Sanctions against a judge who has violated his ethics can range from "a reprimand to never holding judicial office again," Graci said.

Friday, a day after his summary charges were filed, Kelley paid $350 in fines and $247.50 in court costs.